Jessica Chastain Directly Called Out A “Shady” Headline That Implied She Shopped At Target To Get Into Character As A “Normal Person” With A “Simple Life”

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Jessica Chastain is setting the record straight on a “shady” headline.

A close-up of Jessica Chastain smiling in a metallic sequin dress
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After securing an interim agreement with the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists amid the ongoing Hollywood strikes, Jessica and her costars are currently promoting their new movie, Memory, which just premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.

The cast and director of Memory on the red carpet
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According to the IMDb description, the movie follows a “surprise encounter” between two former high school classmates, played by Jessica and Peter Sarsgaard.

Jessica and Peter on the Toronto International Film Festival red carpet
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

Jessica’s character, Sylvia, is described as “a social worker who leads a simple and structured life” — which apparently gave the Oscar-winning actor a “fun” opportunity to go back to basics while shooting the movie.

Close-up of Jessica wearing a shiny turtleneck
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In addition to wearing no makeup and having no trailer on the shoot, Jessica recently told IndieWire that one of her favorite aspects of getting into character was buying her own costumes from Target.

Close-up of Jessica with arms folded and wearing a suit
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“I was in Nashville at the time, and I went to Target,” she told the outlet. “We were moving quickly. I think I spent like $130 and I brought it back, and we did a fitting.”

Close-up of Jessica smiling and wearing glasses and a suit jacket
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After her shopping spree, Jessica said that the director, Michel Franco, still felt that her Target picks looked a little “too chic” for the role.

Michel, Jessica, and Peter arm in arm
Stefania D'alessandro / WireImage

“There was a lot of 'Let’s try and just scrub Jessica of any kind of movie star feeling that we can,' which also I appreciated,” she said, adding that she styled her own hair every day on set too.

Close-up of Jessica with a leafy backdrop
Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

After the IndieWire interview was published this week, numerous outlets picked up on Jessica’s quotes, including the Los Angeles Times, which ran a headline focused mainly on the actor’s trip to Target as a means of getting “into character as a normal person.”

Close-up of Jessica smiling and wearing a deep-V shiny outfit
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

The headline read, “Jessica Chastain Shopped at Target to Get Into Character as a Normal Person ‘Who Leads a Simple Life’ for Her New Movie.”

Close-up of Jessica sitting down and smiling
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images

Soon after the story was published yesterday, Jessica took to X — formerly known as Twitter — to criticize the way her quotes were presented.

Close-up of Jessica in a deep-V shiny outfit
Maria Moratti / Getty Images

“Such a shady & click bait headline,” she wrote, emphasizing that the experience of going to Target wasn’t a Method acting ploy to help her feel “normal” but is actually something she does “all the time.”

Screenshot of the comment

“The interesting part wasn’t that I shopped at Target (I do it all the time- best holiday decorations & school supplies),” she wrote. “it was that I got to get into character by shopping for my own costumes. That’s the not normal part.”

Close-up of Jessica in a strapless outfit, long necklace, and sunglasses with paparazzi behind her
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

Since hitting back at the headline, Jessica has been praised by fans for taking matters into her own hands.

Close-up of Jessica smiling and wearing a SAG-AFTRA T-shirt
Franco Origlia / Getty Images

Just last week, Jessica admitted she felt “nervous” about promoting her new movie amid the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, revealing during a press conference in Venice that “there were actually some people on my team who advised me against it.”

Close-up of Jessica at a media event
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Despite this, she still found a way to support her striking colleagues by giving a powerful speech and rocking a black “SAG-AFTRA on Strike!” T-shirt on the red carpet — proving once more that she isn’t afraid to speak up.

Close-up of Jessica wearing the T-shirt
Stefania D'alessandro / WireImage

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